


Data Overload

by loquaciouslass



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Canon Divergent, Gen, No pairings - Freeform, friendship fic, shopping fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7762261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loquaciouslass/pseuds/loquaciouslass
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fi and Zelda have an educational day at the Bazaar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Data Overload

Skyloft was a gorgeous place, but not always used to strange things. Sure, monsters were frightening, but they weren’t strange. Monsters had been as much a part of Skyloft as the clouds in the sky. 

The metallic, frilly girl floating dreamily behind Zelda was not normal. She was roughly girl sized, perhaps a head shorter than Zelda, and she didn’t have the fangs or horns that tended to be on anything demonic. It was just that she was purple and blue, floating, and reflecting the sunlight in such a way that one could hear Beedle screaming as it hit his eyes. The people of Skyloft whispered to themselves, wondering where she had come from, wondering why she was following Zelda around. Could she be a monster? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to kidnap the beloved, if somewhat pushy, girl. 

Zelda just walked along, whistling. The girl followed silently. They stopped at the Bazaar. 

“Here it is!” Zelda chirped, “Skyloft’s very own market for all your needs and wants!”

The girl stared at it. “A market. A place where goods and services are exchanged for rupees, though services and goods of equal value can also be exchanged.” She looked to Zelda. “I calculate that my information is approximately 500 years old. Therefore, it has a high probability of being incorrect.” A pause. “Could you confirm if this information is still in date?” 

“One-hundred percent accurate, Fi! I guess markets wouldn’t have changed too much at the core.” Zelda tapped her face and clicked her tongue, “Though I’ve only got faint memories of being Hylia, so for all I know, markets could have been very different on the surface…”

“I am currently accessing data from the trade on the surface prior to Skyloft being raised-“

“No, no!” said Zelda, “It’s fine, you can do that later. You can help update our records, if you’d like.” Zelda took Fi by the sleeve and tugged her gently, grinning, “today is the day where I help you learn more about stuff- and that stuff is all in here!”

“Yes, I have entered before-“

“Yeah, but you were always just here to dispense advice when Link was around. You didn’t get to experience the fun of it all! Buying stuff you don’t need just because it’s pretty, eating weird stuff from the stall for a dare, even just chatting with the traders! So, where do you want to start?” 

Fi glanced around. She was familiar with the layout of the area, and the products, but ‘fun’ was not something she associated with the Bazaar. Certainly, Master Link had had his moments in the area, but largely it was just somewhere they went to fix an inconvenience. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Besides, the lights were beginning to make her feel small, and cramped. Like someone had taken her sleeves and wrapped them all around her until it felt like her body would bend and break. Fi could not feel heat, precisely, but she was certain that humans would call it becoming flustered. Something embarrassing, something suggesting they were being overloaded.

But Zelda was smiling at her, and those big, blue eyes beckoned her along.

So they saw the fortune teller and his unsettling eyes (Fi was apparently causing interference in the crystal ball and Zelda was an omen of war, apparently), to the item check (where Zelda only picked up a headband and swiftly moved on as Peatrice’s pout became more of a scowl) and to the potion stand (Zelda upset the baby and Bea by knocking over a bottle. They left with much lighter pockets.) 

Zelda turned a blue rupee over in her hands, slumped over at a table. Fi floated beside her, turning her head towards the door. She thought today had been…well, not precisely a waste, but the consequences of the day had far outweighed the benefits in her opinion.

Still, she didn’t say that. Zelda was her master, certainly, but she was still a goddess. Even if she refused to acknowledge it, most of the time. Even glancing a head towards a door may have been considered a flaw.

Not to Hylia, really, but ever since Ghirahim showed up, there had been others who were…suspicious. 

“Fi? Have you seen something outside?” 

Fi snapped her head around. Zelda was looking up at her, eyes wide and lips turned downwards. “Are you okay?”

“I am functioning at 95%-“

“That’s…not what I mean,” said Zelda, standing up and taking Fi’s sleeves in her hands, “I mean…emotionally, are you okay? You haven’t been adding much commentary to this day out. And you keep looking at the exit-“

“I apologise for my lack of engagement.”

“You don’t need to apologise. You can say if you’re bored, you know. Link finds shopping dull too.”

Fi looked down. The ground was dirty in here, dust and mud caking the tiles. It wasn’t like the surface though, where the ground was usually gleaming like tiny stars trying to break through the barrier and return to the sky. It was always alive in some way, but there was never so many things happening at once, competing for attention. It was easy to find a moment to shut down on the surface, just to rearrange her data. And Master Link was rarely so chatty.

Fi and Zelda sat in silence. The Bazaar buzzed around them.

Master Link did not have an issue with her giving her opinions, but they were largely based in facts. Solid data she could cite. 

Hylia had been the one to give her a large portion of that data, to make her a great assistant. So surely…surely if she was meant to dispense advice, that meant that opinions were not wrong, correct? She could be sure of herself. 

And even if Zelda was the goddess, she was not the same as Hylia.

“Your grace- I mean, Zelda?”

“Yes, Fi?” 

“I find the Bazaar to be fascinating, but there is too much data input at one time. This is unfamiliar territory for me. I would advise exiting and finding a quiet place.”

Zelda blinked at her like an owl preparing to hunt. “Yeah, sure. Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?” 

“Somewhere silent and familiar is best. I can arrange my data there. I…would prefer to be alone.”

Zelda was quiet for a second, still staring. Fi felt something bristle in her data banks. This tended to be a response when people were stunned- perhaps she had offended Zelda, somehow.

Zelda stood up. Fi prepared to add another note on file- Zelda did not like to be questioned, Zelda did not like to be refused, Zelda did not want-

“Hey, it’s understandable. I’m sorry for not thinking about how much new stuff would be here! Maybe next time, you could pick where you want to go first?”

Fi looked up. Zelda was grinning at her. “Besides, I can go and bother Link now. Just let us know when you’re ready for social things again!” 

Fi gave her a small smile. “Thank you, your- Zelda,” She said, a little forcefully, “Enjoy the rest of your day.”  
“Bye, Fi!” 

Zelda waved her off. Fi flew above the noise of the island, where the people chattered about how strange it was to see a stranger, especially made of metal. She touched down on the Isle of Songs, walking into the building. Her feet clacked hard against the stone. 

“Your grace,” Fi said to the statue, “I come bearing reports of the Island designated Skyloft, 525 years on from its ascension…”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LOZvoices, specifically my friend Senom.


End file.
